Pondi, Chennai and Coimbatore

Lond due travelogue update. In the month of June, had gone on an official tour of South India. So Apart from loosing most of my hair, and going from wheaty to "This shade does not exsist" on the Garnier Fairness Scale, I had a fun time picking up some interesting observations.

Pondicherry (Puducherry)

Lot of White buildings. Architecture still retained of the olden style. All the BARS still have their signs in the French colours, (White blue and red) Some places still have French names, like Debussy road. The city is very small, the farthest distance being around 20min by road and a population of 10 lakh. The languages spoken included English, French and Tamil. The cops clothes are kind of funny, reminding me of the musical band masters. They were white clothes with a maroon belt, maroon whistles and the strangest part is the Maroon box hat, like the ones worn by the French police in earlier times. (Think Pink Panther Cartoons)

Chennai, Tamil Nadu

All the wine shops are owned by the Govt. There are many “Bars” but they do not sell liquor. Instead they are cool bars, snack bars, food bars. Any restaurant which wants to have a bar attached must have to fulfill a lot of questions, including having a 20 room hotel. Additionally names of the restaurants are either based on God’s or Politicians. The city has lots of statues, in almost every third road. The city is very hot and humid, and people speak Tamil, even if they know other languages. Cops have blue caps and white uniforms. All the cops I saw looked very fit and ready for action, unlike the belly driven bumble bee cops back at home. Chettinad cuisine is the speciality.(Fantastic!!!)


Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

Beautiful roads, almost all major roads are 3 lanes with paved pathways with fencing.Has a mixed population of Tamilians, Keralites and Kannidagas. Hence the city has a different feel to it.  Additional Coimbatore is an Industrial city famous for its textile manufacturing. The People are very nice and completely different from those in Chennai. People here love their tea and mid day snacks. Great place to buy sarees if you know how to buy one!!!

Overall a good trip!!! :)